Bear startles man fishing from pier

UPI News Service, 05/16/2012

A Minnesota man fishing off the end of a pier said he was shocked when a voice over a loudspeaker warned him of an oncoming bear.

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Dominique Bowens of Duluth said he was fishing Tuesday morning on the south pier of the Duluth ship canal when Lift Bridge Supervisor Ryan Beamer's voice came from a loudspeaker and said, "be advised there is a black bear coming your way on the pier," the Duluth News Tribune reported Wednesday.

"I thought he was kidding," Bowens said. "I turned around, and there was a bear. He kept coming closer."

Bowens said he decided to climb the stairs to the lighthouse at the end of the pier.

"I know cubs like that aren't aggressive," he said. However, he said to be safe, "I moved away as far as I could."

Beamer said the bear stopped about 100 feet from Bowens' location and walked back toward land. He said Lift Bridge operator Dale Mitchell made noise as the bear approached, scaring the animal into running away.

Beamer said the black bear was the first he had seen on the pier, though there have been other sightings.

"Other people working here have seen them walk right down the center of the bridge," he said.